Living Oceans
April 2010
Banner photo: Orange Anthias and Coral, Egypt [© David Doubilet]
The Oceans and Human Life
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi [© Seikyo Shimbun]
Educator and first Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944) analyzed the role of the oceans in his first book, The Geography of Human Life (1903). The following is an excerpt from Wakaki Makiguchi Tsunesaburo (Young Tsunesaburo Makiguchi) by the noted Japanese cultural critic and historian of ideas, Shoji Saito.
In describing seas and oceans as one of the geographical features that serve as a site for human life, Makiguchi begins with an analysis of the standing and role of the oceans within the contemporary world situation.
In 1903, tensions with Russia were high and nationalist sentiments were reaching a fever pitch, as were calls to take a hard-line stance against Russia. (In 1904, Japan and Russia would in fact go to war.) Against this political and cultural backdrop, Makiguchi presents an extremely objective analysis:
In today's world, a country confronting the Western Powers may seek sovereignty or independence, but this can only be political independence. Economically, all countries are equally parts of an enormous market. Working together, each with their respective responsibilities for a different economic function, they advance the life of the whole. They can each be compared to stores that sell the products resulting from their particular role in the larger division of labor. This is what is ultimately meant by those who suggest that the term "trading organization" should replace the word "nation." In this regard, the only difference between the so-called civilized and uncivilized nations is the sophistication of the products that they offer for sale.
Among other things, this can be read as Makiguchi's rebuttal to the Japanese nationalists' vehement call for autonomy and independence through military might by asserting that international cooperation and participation in the world market are the only way for Japan to thrive within the currents of historical change.
Oshima Habu port, Japan, 1929 [© kdo/uniphoto press]
For Makiguchi, peoples who were at the time considered uncivilized had fallen behind the progress of human history because of a fearful avoidance of the oceans. The obstacles to ocean travel "had dampened their courage, and intimidated and disheartened them; the vast powers of nature were seen as magical forces inspiring only fear and dread."
To Makiguchi, Europeans and Japanese had come from an equally "uncivilized" past. Differences in development and national strength can, he asserts, be largely attributed to different attitudes toward the oceans. Development and national strength come from transforming the oceans from barriers into interconnecting pathways. Attempting to remain isolated behind the barriers the oceans provide will lead to decline.
By opening itself to the world in the mid-19th century, Japan had managed to avoid the ruin and colonization that had been imposed on the peoples of Southeast Asia. Makiguchi further urges Japan to develop as a maritime nation, interacting with the entire world, rather than remaining an isolated and provincial "island nation."
Yokohama, 1951 [© kdo/uniphoto press]
It is clear that for Makiguchi the oceans, like the categories of civilized and uncivilized, were not absolute or static. The oceans will offer their natural resources and embrace human beings who initiate positive interactions. The oceans are a human condition rather than simply a geographical feature.
Both the positive aspects (such as enabling development) and negative aspects (such as provoking fear) of the ocean are ultimately not inherent functions of the natural, but depend on human factors. As long as nature and humans share the planet, the human facts should precede geographical facts. This, for Makiguchi, is the relationship between geography and human life.
